Gajar Ka… Muffin

Baking is an exact science, they say. But that didn’t matter to me. When my baking experiments with cardamom became more than successful (I have made these turnovers countless number of times now), I wanted to bake a cardamom-flavoured quick bread. While putting this recipe together, I had no recipe in mind, but a flavour – Gajar halwa or carrot halwa. So I added a little bit of this and little bit of that and ended up with one of the most amazing creations of mine. The muffins were moist and delicious, that every bite was a treat.

Vegan Carrot Pineapple Muffin

To make this enjoyable for everyone, I made ‘em vegan. Flax seeds were used for eggs and Tofutti, better than cream cheese for frosting. I was quite impressed with this vegan cream cheese, it is as good as its dairy counterpart. Herbs and chives is my favorite spread for sandwiches these days.

Weekend Breakfast Blogging - Healthy Eats

This is my second entry to WBB – Healthy Eats. A quick reminder, the deadline for this event is 29th of this month.

Ingredients

Shredded carrots – 2 cups
All purpose flour – 1¼ cups + 1 tbsp
Crushed pineapple with juice – ½ cup
Ground flax seeds – 2 tbsp
Water – 6 tbsp
Vegetable oil – 2/3 cup
Sugar – ¾ cup
Dried currants or raisins – ¼ cup
Cashew or walnut haves – ½ cup
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Ground cardamom – 1 tsp
Baking soda – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp

Frosting (optional)

Vegan cream cheese – ½ cup
Powdered sugar – 2 tbsp

Method

Preheat oven to 400F. Line muffin pan with liners. In a big bowl, microwave 6 tbsp of water till it boils. Vigorously whisk in ground flax seeds. Microwave for a minute, whisk again and microwave for an additional minute.

To the ‘flax eggs’, add oil, sugar, vanilla and cardamom and beat until creamy. In a separate bowl, mix all purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients along with crushed pineapple. Toss carrots, raisins/currants and cashew/walnut in the remaining tbsp of flour. Add this to the batter. Mix until combined.

Scoop batter onto muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes at 400F. Reduce the oven temperature to 350F and continue to bake for another 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm. This recipe yields 11 standard size muffins.

If desired, prepare frosting by creaming cream cheese and powdered sugar together. When cupcakes are cool, frost them.

nice_matters1

Deeba, The Passionate Baker and Maya at Konkan World have awarded me with ‘Nice Matters Award’. “Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.” This means a lot coming from my fellow bloggers. I want to express my appreciation for passing this award to me. Thank you Deeba and Maya.

30 comments:

BitterSweet said...

They sound lovely! Thanks for thinking of us vegans, too- Carrot cake is always welcome in my home! ;)

jayasree said...

Interesting to read the idea behind your muffin. Looks yummy. Lovely color. Congrats on your award.

Srivalli said...

wow...as usual great looking picture and a nice innovative one..that looks so perfect suganya...wish you were my neighbor..:(

amna said...

flax seeds. I found some in a supermarket here :) Dying to try it out but I am very lazy at baking. Don't have any of the right utentils or equipment that makes it easier!

sra said...

That's a neat idea - carrot halwa in a muffin!

Johanna GGG said...

I have never had carrot halva but tasted semolina halva for the first time yesterday and now am keen to try more halva! These muffins look lovely - I love carrot and pineapple together in baking and the idea of cardamom thrown into the mix seems so right!

sunita said...

Sug,tell you a secret? I work on my whims most, well probably all the time while baking... no exact sciences for me on that front (shhhh!!the purists will protest ;-))...congrats on your award...you are nice indeed...btw, I've posted something carroty too :-)

FH said...

YUMMY! I love Carrots cake with cream cheese frosting! Tofutti is a great alternative but haven't seen here though. May be I might in Health food store, got to look!:)

Gattina Cheung said...

the ingredients' combo is so chic yet delicious! For me I can't bake without reference/recipe. You are really good!

Kalai said...

A breakfast that tastes like gajar halwa?! What a wonderful way to start the day! Great idea, Suganya! :)

Mythreyee said...

That's a healthy muffin.

Red Chillies said...

Suganya, loved your Gajar muffin recipe. I am on the lookout for eggless variations and I have tried the 'flaxmeal egg' way. But alas! I cannot make it work. It becomes gummy and stretchy, but when I add it to the batter does not seem to have the desired 'egg replacer ' effect. Any feedback is appreciated!

Sihi said...

Congrats on the award Suganya. Way to go girl!
These muffins are really cool and very unique. I'm sure with the pineapple , cardamom and carrot it was a true feast to the palate.

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Love it - gajar ka halwa in muffin form - the best form of east meets west I've ever seen.

musical said...

Gajar ka muffin is lovely and very innovative Suganya! And top it all, its vegan! Tofutti is a great pointer, thanks!

Congratulations on your award! Very well deserved!

Mansi said...

ooh! this looks awesome Suganya! nice variation:) congrats on the award, and I've just sent you my "sweet" entry for WBB:)

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Oh !!! tooo good.... lovely pic

evolvingtastes said...

Jaffrey Aunty (and the fellow bloggers will be laughing again) has a carrot halwa cake in one of her books, and a friend says it turns out very well too. You might want to check it out. I love cardamom too, and it does work fabulously in baking, doesn't it?

Manju said...

love the color of Gajar Muffin!! innovative huh!! :)

Pooja V said...

Super gorgeous !! Delish !

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious Sugs! You are soo good at that... a little bit of this and a little of that :-)
My entries to your event coming up sooooon :-)
Lovely entry - this gajar ka muffin!

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Baking, a perfect science? I don't think so! But these muffins sure look perfect.

Uma said...

Looks so yummy!

Shella said...

The muffins are certainly great...n the award truly deserving. Congrats.

Anonymous said...

shantha Subramaniam said
Muffins are my favourate item Because of egg i used to hesitate. Hearing your receipe I am happy. Is it possible by Micro oven

Anonymous said...

I simply cannot wait to try these--they sound absolutely fantastic. I love cardamon and am always looking for a new way to use it! (And thanks for the vegan option) :)

Anonymous said...

Carrot cakes is one of my favorites. Thank you.

Sarah said...

I made these today. I used pineapple chunks and added some wheat germ for extra fiber! Thanks for sharing a delicious recipe!

Deeba PAB said...

HA HA...loved the gajar ka muffin...was looking for the halwa!! Beautiful pictures & write-up too. Cheers & take care

Anonymous said...

i don't have flax seeds.. how many eggs will it replace 2tbsp of the seeds??

luv
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